Fantasy books for adults and young adults, found on Amazon.com for Kindle, Print, and Kindle Select.
The Lantern-Lit City
Ultimate evil is simple to denounce…unless that evil lives in you.
Cara is a monster. Inside her dwells a creature akin to the undead prowlers that roam the kingdom. When a mysterious man kidnaps her lady, Cara ties her identity to the quest to free her. If she succeeds in the rescue, it will prove that she’s not evil. But danger lurks along the way to the fabled city Riverfen. Cara’s inner beast is a benefit and a curse, saving her life and endangering her in turn. As she gives into it more and more, Cara fears what such a bonding will produce.
As Cara battles her inner self, Princess Gwen hides her forbidden sorcery from the world. After being forced to flee her home by an anti-magic Inquisition, Gwen finally has the chance to pursue her enchantments. But her spellcasting provokes the very man whom Cara pursues.
Each woman’s power could free her…or doom the lantern-lit city.
This epic fantasy by Vista McDowall is for those who love courtly intrigue balanced by violence, complex magic systems, a lush new world, and diverse characters.
“The dead are loud tonight.”
After the loss of her lady and the bloody Masque, Cara is desperate to pursue Mavian, the warlock who upended her world. In her quest for vengeance, Cara finds that the line between monster and maiden is too thin for comfort. Her hatred grows into an evil that rivals the beast inside her, and she must learn to control it before it consumes her.
Cara isn’t the only one out for blood. The sorceress, Gwen, seeks retribution for her brother’s death. Three mysterious witches bring her to an alien world of haunted trees where magic is formed by music. As Gwen tries to learn the spells that will destroy her enemies, she realizes that the Woods will not easily give up their secrets. In return for great power, she could lose herself completely.
On top of the kingdom’s inner turmoil, a new threat comes from across the sea: an invading army that will leave no city safe. Alliances crumble as betrayals upheave the possibility of peace. A hundred years of peace has come to a violent end, and Death is closer than ever before.
This sequel to The Lantern-Lit City explores the bounds of magic and the price of war. The lanterns of Riverfen may glow for only a little while longer…
First encounters. We wait for, dread, or stumble upon them.
First encounters with the unknown call forth exciting stories full of magic, horror, humor, and suspense. What happens when aliens, fantastical creatures, or strange objects in the sky interrupt ordinary life? This collection offers ten original stories full of mysterious happenings including: an alien attempts to save earth, a voodoo clarinet grants wishes, time travel for human sperm collection, a love-obsessed scientist creates his own reality, the ghost of Jimmy Hoffa offers sage advice, an alien visits the supermarket, a cruel merchant faces feral vampires, an aspiring writer encounters an invading triangle, dragons capture an ancient couple, and a colony ark crashes on a hostile planet.
Join the journey with these unsuspecting characters and discover if they learn from their encounters or suffer a tragic fate.
Includes short story “The Pack” from Vista McDowall, a prequel story set in the same universe as The Lantern-Lit City.
“The screams of dying men punctured the night sky. Blood splattered over the ground. Drest tasted it on his tongue.” -Excerpt from “The Pack”
Author Vista McDowall 